Meeting the End
by NightDreamingWriter
Summary: Searching for a new life, Natsu, or E.N.D, joins fairy tail. While returning from a mission, he meets his soulmate, Lucy Heartfilia, a traveling mage looking for a new home and family. - now being cross posted on ao3 under : NightTimeDreamer
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Meeting the End

 **Pairing:** Nalu

 **Summary:** Searching for a new life, Natsu, or E.N.D, joins fairy tail. While returning from a mission, he meets his soulmate, Lucy Heartfilia, a traveling mage looking for a new home and family.

 **A/N:** Hello! Welcome to my story! I hope you enjoy it! Just as a side note, the names do not indicate p.o.v but the character that that passage is focusing on.

 **Chapter 1:** Prologue

 **END/Natsu**

Despite what the master thought, he remembers his past, all of it. He remembers the taste of blood. The taste of flesh. The taste of complete and utter loneliness. He remembered how he woke up from some strange pod with the desire to destroy and annihilate everything in his path. He was considered the END.

However, soon after the wars, after his path of destruction, after his ostracization, he felt loneliness. His desire to destroy, to set everything a light in the darkness of his cursed flames, soon waned, and he felt a sense of lulled blood lust that calmed his mind for the first time since he awoke.

With this new sense of calm, he decided to stray from his fellow demons and seek a path of his own. They may have called him a traitor, but he had his own desire to find his true nature. It was then that he found the old dragon king of fire, Igneel.

He soon grew close to him, and they became good friends whose relationship soon grew to that of a father and son. Though neither were willing enough to voice it. Igneel taught him most of what he knows about humanity and how to interact with them so that he may one day be among them, he even taught him his dragon slayer magic. It was also through Igneel that he found out about soulmates.

Apparently, it was something that all living creatures had, no matter the species. Soulmates were the other half of a being's existence. They balanced each other out, they were there for each other, they loved one another, but most of all, they accepted each other. This deep profound relationship was embodied in the form of a mark on their body. Each mark was unique. It usually represented certain aspects of their personalities and wound it together, symbolizing their union. It would also only show up once both mates were living.

So it was after this discovery that the infamous END decided to live for the day to meet his mate. He no longer battled in the wars of demons, men, and dragons, but only trained to maintain skill and possibly get stronger to protect and appeal to his mate. It was shortly after this decision that he lost Igneel. The dragons had a plan. They knew they were losing to Achnologia in their battle for the humans, so in order for their plan to work, they had to stay within the bodies of their adopted children, or their dragon slayer, for both of their safety. The children were in danger of being poisoned by the properties of dragon magic that were not meant to be for humans, and the dragons from facing death at the hands of Achnologia.

So he agreed, even if it did not affect his demon body. Igneel would reside in his body, however he would not travel to the future like the dragon slayers. He did not want to miss the chance of losing his mate without meeting her. And so he waited. It was after the first hundred years that he stopped feeling hope for finding his other half. After all, he of all people would be the last to deserve such a privilege. So for the next 300 years, he stayed isolated, training for the day that the dragon's plan would finally be carried out.

It was midsummer of X767 that he felt a burning sensation above his heart. He lifted his shirt to look at his chest and was surprised to see the mark of a shooting star with trailing flames resting on it. After so long, he would finally meet his soulmate.

 **Layla**

Layla laid on one of the beds in her husband's mansion, exhausted but filled with joy. She had just brought her newest and greatest love into the world, her daughter, Lucy. She smiled at the hovering form of her husband as he hovered over the midwife who was now cleaning her daughter. Despite the joy she felt at the birth of her child, she felt a sense of dread that was lingering in her mind. She didn't know why or the source of the feeling, but she buried it in the back of her mind as she sees the midwife turn to hand her the now clean baby.

"Congratulations Mrs. Heartfilia, your baby is healthy and ready to be fed." She told her as Layla held her daughter gently.

"Thank you." She replied softly, watching her daughter feed from her breast.

"Your welcome, I will stay till the morning just in case anything happens." Before the midwife was able to walk out of the room, Layla's daughter stopped feeding and started squirming in her arms.

Both ladies looked toward her baby and stared surprised as the area above little Lucy's heart lightly glowed for a few seconds and slowly receded. Layla gently lowered the blanket from her daughter to look at the once glowing area and smiled at the newly marked skin above her daughter's heart.

"Looks like her soulmate was already born." Commented Layla.

"He better not be too old!" exclaimed Jude.

 ***10 years later***

Layla laid on her death bed, thinking back to her past. She didn't regret anything. She was finally able to complete her family's duty that had been passed down through the generations. She also was able to start a family with a wonderful husband. The only thing that she wishes that she could have done was watch her daughter grow up and find her soulmate. But when she felt the shift in time through her magic, she knew it was time to fulfill her family duty. She would still be healthy if she was able to track the 12th key, but there was not enough time and she had to use her own magic. She was glad her daughter would at least be able to be guided by her spirits that she left for her to inherit, and the book of their family's celestial magic that she left behind.

* **one year later (now X778)**

 **Makarov**

Makarov was enjoying a normal day at his guild. The children that he has taken in to his guild were all playing around in the guild hall while the older members were drinking or going out on missions. He himself was sitting at the bar, thinking about his grandson. He was proud that Laxus was able to become an S-class mage at such a young age, but he still was deeply hurt and angered due to the issue with his father.

Makarov sighed when he felt an immense source of magic enter the city. The older members who were more accustomed to the sensory of magic looked up from their conversations and looked towards the master, they would only act with his consent. Right now, their strongest, Guildarts, was on a mission and wasn't due to return for another week. Makarov shook his head, telling the elder members to not act on it, and left the guild hall to investigate. The magic did not feel like who was ever, or whatever, was emitting it was in a volatile mood.

He arrived at a small restaurant near the outskirts of town, and walked in. There he saw an interesting scene. The normal matrons of the restaurant and their customers were looking at the figure dressed in a black cloak, who was indulging in many plates of food. He approached the figure who looked up from his food as he felt someone approach him. As Makarov got closer, he started to notice more prominent features of the man in black. The most noticeable, his pink hair that was left unkempt. The other was his height. Granted, Makarov was farthest from the tallest person in the guild, but this man was probably taller than guild arts. Lastly, he seemed to be in his early twenties.

Makarov sat down across from the figure and smiled at the "young" man in front of him. The unknown figure still ate, but at a much slower pace and was looking at the short master. Makarov knew that the young man was not fooled by his height and age. "Can I help you?" the man asked the guild master. The voice sounded deep and scratchy, as if he hasn't spoken for some time.

"Yes I was wondering what were intentions for being in this town. I mean no harm, but I do have responsibility as the main guild for this town." Makarov said bluntly.

"I see that my magic attracted some attention, I apologize. I have no intention on harming anyone in this town. I was just passing by and decided to get something to eat."

Makarov could tell that the man spoke of the truth and slightly relaxed. "Oh, well then welcome to Mangolia. I am the guild master to the guild Fairy Tail, Makarov."

The man looked at the smaller, older man, studying him and seemed to decide that he was fine to talk to. "I am Natsu Dragneel." He replied.

"Are you apart of any guild? Or are you a member of the Magic Council?" Makarov asked.

"Neither, I woke up in the mountains and have been wondering around for the past few years."

"You don't remember anything?"

It took a few moments for Natsu to reply. "No."

Makarov felt pity for him. He studied the young man in front of him. He seemed fine enough, he wasn't getting any evil vibes from him. Call it a hunch or fate, but something was telling him that the person in front of him should be in his guild. "Say, would you like to join my guild?"

Natsu looked at the man and swallowed the spicy noodles that he was chewing and looked to be thinking about it. He agreed.

 **Natsu**

Natsu didn't expect to join a guild. He was traveling around, trying to get used to the newer society and dialect that was not too unlike the pasts. The writing, however, was one of the things that changed the most. Well that and the magic. You would think that after hundreds of years studying magic, humans would get better and stronger at it. But he assumed that after years of peace, there was no real use to have such strong magic unless going on tough "missions."

That was another thing that changed. The magic system. Apparently there were now "guilds" and a sort of "council" to watch over magic users. There were no such things in the past. Mages were either in armies fighting in wars or using defense magic protecting others who did not have magic. There were few wanderers, but mages did not have this form of organization in the past.

He came across a small town, and decided that he should check it out. He traveled about ten minutes into town when he smelt some food and decided that it about time to eat. He usually only ate flames, and rarely food for nutrition for his body; flames only provided as a way to replenish his magic, not for sustaining his body. Somehow his small stop for food turned into a long stay and a guild membership.

He didn't regret or not want to do it, his instinct told him that this would actually be beneficial to him. He has somewhere to stay, a way to make money, better food, and more access for information. Before, he would just gather information by listing to conversations on his travels and occasionally visiting some of the bigger city libraries for information about history. If he was going to stick with his main plan of memory loss when approached by others, he might as well play the part, it wouldn't help that he knew absolutely nothing about the world around him.

"So how much do you remember about your past?" asked Makarov. He had finished eating, so they were now walking back the guild.

"Not a lot, I have picked up some knowledge going about different towns and libraries, but nothing about my personal life." Natsu commented, not that he would like to tell him anyway. If they ever found out about his true past, then they would more than likely kick him out and try to kill him. "I have noticed however that in the past years that I have not aged." He would rather not go through the trouble of having to de-age his body and go through puberty all over again.

Demon bodies were peculiar thing. Their abilities and power ranged from class to class. Lower classes were the typical view that humans had for demons. Grotesque bodies with haunting abilities. Middle class demons were more humanoid but still had most of their lower counter parts characteristics. These two classes would still use the power of magic to wreak havoc to those who were not of their kind or share the same master. High and Elite class demons use the power of curses in order to their biding. They had higher intelligence than other demons, and were the most human out of them. High class demons would have almost complete human bodies but had small external demon characteristics, such as different color skin, claws for nails, or even wings. While they were mostly human, they still had the other demon characteristics such as enhanced speed, endurance, and strength.

Elite demons, however, are on a whole other level. They can control how their bodies look and adjust it to how they like using curses. Their high aptitude for curses is what made them so powerful. But because they use their curses, which can be explained as a higher form of magic that is more powerful and lasts longer, whenever they need to use more power in battle, their looks regress to that of a high class demon. Natsu was an elite demon. However unlike other elite demons, or other demons in general, he was able to use both magic and curses. How, he was unsure, he suspected it due to his time learning dragon slayer magic from Igneel.

While on his travels around the land, he tried sensing other demons that might still be around. He found very little. Most of the demons now were those of the lower class, the strongest being a middle class. Other demons, as he had discovered in the library of the country's capital, were either killed or sealed with in books or objects. He might have sensed a few high class demons off in the distance, but they were either masking their aura or too far away for him to sense.

One common feature amongst all demons was that after they reach maturity, they stop aging unless they chose to by curse or was affected by magic. He decided to bring his situation with age up because he would rather not go through the hassle of constantly changing his appearance to match the fast aging rate of humans. While thinking about aging, he figured that he would have to stop his soulmates aging in the future if they wish so.

"Hmm… that's weird, I guess we can do some research about it if you want. It could get quite daunting in the future, out living those around you." Commented Makarov.

"Thank you, but I would rather deal with it when it becomes a problem. I don't think it will be that much of a problem until the future." He would rather stay this age then be physically over ten years older than his mate, after all, he is physically 21 and they would be around ten to eleven years of age right now.

"Alright if you say so." They arrived at the guild. "Welcome to Fairy Tail! We'll head up to my office to get your stamp and talk about your position. You're a little too powerful to be just a regular mage, and I can tell you would want to take the harder missions."

As they walk through the guild, he could see how they got the name as the most chaotic guild. The younger members, which were merely children, were fighting each other, knocking down tables. The older members were already drinking and loudly talking about their last mission. They were all unaware of their surroundings and were now oblivious to the new member since he masked his presence to others. They walked up to the office and sat down.

"So what color and where would you like your new guild mark?" Makarov smiled at Natsu.

He thought about it for a little. "On my shoulder and a dark red"

He removed his cloak and removed his shirt to allow the master to stamp his new guild mark. The master stamped the mark and as he moved back saw his soulmate mark. He lightly smiled and sat back down at his desk. "Now that you're a member, we need to discuss your ranking. I normally don't do this with new members, but since you have such powerful magic, I'll list you as an S-class mage, which is the highest ranking below master in a guild. Just as a heads up, due to the mass destruction that this guild causes, any damage that you make will be deducted out of your pay. I hope you enjoy your time here in this guild. Now, let's go introduce you to the guild."

The master and Natsu walked back down to the guild and introduced him as a new member. This only made the guild more rambunctious and hover around him in attempts to get to know him better. Due to not being social in many years, Natsu wasn't as complying and left the guild to look for a place to live for the time being.

As he left, a white haired girl walked up to her guild master.

"Master…"

"Yes Mirajane?"

"His magic feels weird."

 **A/N: And that wraps up the opening chapter for this story. This chapter was primarily used to show some of the differences between my story and cannon. I hope you enjoyed it. Till next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Lucy X784**

Lucy sighed as she wandered the streets of Hargeon looking for the small magic shop that she heard about. She never thought that she would end up in this situation when she was younger. She was now a homeless wanderer, going from town to town, looking for stability, and a life away from her oppressive father. While it wasn't her ideal life, she was now free. Free to make her own decisions and live the way she wanted to. Free to join her favorite guild, Fairy Tail, that is, if she could find her way there and be accepted.

She didn't always live like this. In fact, she was the daughter of a very successful business man. However, despite the lavish life she was living under the care of her father, all she felt towards her previous dwelling was hatred and sadness. She hated the control her father had over her. She spent her days learning about business and how to be the "perfect lady" and was forbidden to continue her studies of magic, the one thing she currently cherished the most. She hated that she felt lonely in her previous home that once was filled with warmth and love. But most of all she felt sad for her father, who was not even a shadow of what he once was, a loving father.

The only good memories that she had were of the few moments that she was able to summon some of the spirits that her mother left behind with her and the late night ours where she was able to read the book on celestial magic that her mother left behind. The rest of her memories consisted of lonely meals, failed attempts of trying to bond with her father, and those horrid meetings with arraigned suitors. She was glad that she had the courage to one night sneak out and leave the life that she abhorred.

She had made little progress with her mother's book. While she could grasp the simpler concepts and execute a few of them, the rest were confusing with her small knowledge of magic itself. The older passages that were written on old, crinkled pages were even more difficult to read due to the shifts of modern language to the older, almost ancient dialect. There were few diagrams also included in some of the lessons, she could only imagine what power the spells held.

She entered the store and went straight to the clerk at the front desk. Most store owners kept the keys behind the counters. Due to Celestial magic being a rarer form of magic, the keys are valued at a higher cost due to their accessibility and fewer buyers. She had yet to encounter any golden keys at a store, most only containing silver keys. "Hello sir, do you happen to have any Celestial Gate Keys?" she asked kindly.

"You're in luck, we only have one key left. I'm not sure which spirit it is since I don't know any constellations, but this one is valued at 20000 jewels." The clerk replied.

Lucy looked at the key and was shocked to see one of the most common keys priced at such a high price. "Come on sir, surely you could give me a deal?" Usually she would try to use her sex appeal to try and get lower prices, but a big part of what contributed to it was her cleavage.

She was rather old fashioned when it came to her soulmate mark. Most of her generation would flaunt their marks, trying to show off how beautiful they were or make it easier for their mate to see it. The older generations felt that their marks were more intimate private, sort of like a little secrete between lovers. She felt that the latter was more romantic and decided to cover up her mark, which happened to be right in the middle of her chest, where her heart was. Because of this, she now always wore shirts that would cover her chest and showed no cleavage.

She didn't worry about not finding her mate, like most people questioned her when they find out about her mark coverage, as fate would somehow always find a way to unite soulmates. There were few cases where mates were never found, most of which were due to their death. She was excited to meet hers. She didn't know what to expect when she met hers, she had no clue who he was or his personality. However, she did know what she did not want from her many suitors. The biggest characteristic she wanted was respect. Many of her previous suitors disrespected her, only using her for the possibility of inheriting her father's company. Many times has she been ignored, leered at, and sometimes groped by men trying to win her father's favor, which had been rewarded by a punch to the face or kick in the gut. Her father clearly did not agree with her methods of self-defense.

In the end, she only got a small discount but still decided to buy the key. She was excited to meet her new friend. Unlike the few other Celestial wizards that were around, she viewed her spirits as friends and not slaves like most due. Which was why she internally vowed to get as many keys as she could to save spirits from the fate of getting a bad summoner. She continued to wander the streets as she decided whether or not to rent a room for the night or get a train to the next nearest town.

As she walked down the current street she walked, she noticed a group of girls crowding around something. Being the curious girl she was, she decided to check it out and immediately regretted it. The man that was being crowded by girls was using the illegal charm magic to attract girls. He even started to hit on her! She was only saved when a man who wore a black cloak walked through the crowd of girls and bumped into the charmed man who claimed to be Fairy Tail's Salamander. While "Salamander" started to try to complain to the man she slipped out of the crowd, which had grown to block the whole street, and waited for the man who saved her from the magic and embarrassment. Subconsciously, she noted how none of the other girl's charms were broken as well.

She watched as the man conversed with Salamander and after a few sentences, left the man with a small look of shock on his face. He then pushed his way out of the crowd of girls and walked passed her. She then started to follow him and tried to catch up to his faster pace of walking. "Excuse me!" she tried to call out. He stopped and turned to look at the person who was trying to get his acknowledgement and raised an eyebrow in question. "Hi! I just wanted to thank you for helping me back there with that "Salamander" guy. I don't know what you did but his charm wore off when you bumped into him. How about I take you out for a meal in return?"

He seemed to think about the offer for a little bit and nodded his head. He motioned her to lead him to a restaurant as she was buying. She smiled and walked to a small family owned restaurant that she had heard from others was a good place to eat. When they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated at a booth and the man ordered two plates of their spiciest meals.

 **Natsu**

Natsu sat quietly across the girl who treated him to his current meal. He was walking around the town, looking for a place to eat while returning from a long mission that he took to destroy some monster in another country. He had mostly survived off of flames and small snacks that he had been able to find along the way and was in need of some regular food to get some nutrients in his body. He small quest for food was over when a girl that he had somehow unknowingly saved from some sort of charm magic decided to treat him as a form of thanks.

Despite not being one to pay close attention to women, as he had a mate, he had to admit that the female in front of him was a beautiful one. Blond hair that seemed to shine in the sun light, a good figure that showed some athleticism, and a kind smile that seemed to even put him at ease. He even had to say that she was more beautiful than the girls in his guild, which was an impressive statement to say. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her starting to speak.

"So…what's your name? I'm Lucy" she asked.

"Natsu."

"What are you doing in town?" she asked, trying to make small talk rather than sit in silence.

"I'm returning from a mission that I had." He replied, trying to keep the responses quick and simple.

"Cool! Are you a roaming mage or a guild mage?"

"Guild."

"What guild are you from?"

"Fairy Tail."

"No way! I was hoping to join Fairy Tail, but somehow no one I know or talked to really knows the location of their guild hall, only of the places that they have destroyed." She commented with a little laughter in her voice. "Can you tell me where the guild hall is?"

"It's in Mongolia." He responded as he noticed the food arriving.

"Oh! Just the town north of us!" He nodded for conformation.

The rest of the meal was spent with the girl's attempt at small chatter and comments on how and why she wanted to join his guild. Normally, he would ignore other strangers and their attempt to speak to him unless he needed some of their information for the mission he was on, he seemed to be drawn to the female that sat in front of him. A small feeling of hope sat deep in his stomach, but was unable to conform it as her chest was covered up with her shirt. When he finished his meal he let the girl pay for it and they split ways at the door of the establishment.

He walked to a nearby hotel, deciding to stay for another day, his instincts were telling him that something was going to happen that night and rented a room. One thing that he knew to do after so many years of experience was to follow his instinct. After renting a room at the hotel, he decided to wander around town, having nothing better to do until he can go back to the guild and get a job that Happy could accompany him on.

Happy was a strange creature that he found one day as an egg while he was building his home in the forest. Being the recluse that he was, he wanted to have a place outside of the city and in a private area so he can relax when he wanted to until he found his mate. He decided to keep the egg and soon enough, Happy, an eccentric cat like creature with wings and blue fur, hatched out of the egg. Being the one to hatch the cat out of the egg, the creature recognized him as his guardian. Overtime he grew to enjoy the creature's company with his cheerful attitude and habit of teasing others. He was a little disappointed that he could not bring him on all of the missions that he took as they would be too dangerous for the flying cat to be a part of. For those missions, Happy usually stayed at the guild hall and stayed the night with Mirajane, the guild hall's bartender and former S-class mage.

While wandering the streets he saw the same girl, Lucy again, talking to that man who was using his not so well known nick name that was given to him by some of the people who hired him. They seem to be arguing about something before the blond stormed off and sat down on a nearby bench. Not being one to meddle in others business, he just walked off.

 **Later at night**

Natsu was walking to his hotel after eating dinner. While he was walking, he heard some kind of commotion coming from a boat that had recently left the dock and was starting to go into the sea for travel. Once again, his instincts were telling him that something was off about the boat that was making its way to sea. Following his instinct, he decided to board the boat, and used his flames to board the boat. Not really caring about destruction, as all of the members in guild, he crashed through the roof of the boat and landed in what seemed to be a horrible situation.

Girls were all passed out on the floor, while the blond that he met earlier was caught in the arms of another male, struggling with what seemed to be her keys in the imposters hands. For some reason, the sight of her being captured like that made him and his inner demon filled with anger. He ignored it while he assessed the situation, and stopped when he saw the imposter wearing a fake and botched version of his guild's symbol on his skin.

Despite not really associating with other guild members, he still really liked the make shift home that he had found himself at. They were all really welcoming and respected his boundaries. Seeing this man trying to associate his guild with kidnappings and possible selling to another countries slave market made his anger grow even more.

The men on the ship began to sweat, as the temperature began to rise on the premise, and their nervousness began to grow at the look his face. One of the men, who was tying up some of the females so they won't escape when they awoke, turned towards his boss. "Hey, boras, I don't think we should mess with this guy, I'm getting some really weird vibes from him."

"You idiot! Why did you say my name?! Never mind that, he insulted me earlier when he bumped into me and didn't apologize. He even had the gall to say that talking to me was a waste of breath. Attack him!" Boras screamed to his men.

 **Lucy**

Lucy knew something like this was going to take place on the ship. After her lunch with Natsu, she passed a few girls gushing about the boat party that they were invited to. She then ran into Salamander who insisted that she join them as well. She heard his voice begin to harden and become crueler as she kept refusing to go to the party. She knew something was going to happen to the girls that were going to said party, and being a person who has had many sexual harassment cases, she did not want the other girls to go through the same and agreed to join with the intention of saving the girls who were going. What she didn't expect was her keys getting stolen or Natsu crashing through the roof.

She watched as he effortlessly fought off the lackeys of who she now knew was actually Boras. Seeing as Boras was now distracted by the defeat of his men and destruction of his boat, she kicked him in the stomach, making him drop her keys. She quickly grabbed them and grabbed the key to her oldest and most powerful key, Aquarius. She ran outside to where the closest and largest body of water was closest to her was, and called on her spirit. "Open, gate of the water bearer, Aquarius!"

Her spirit appeared in a golden light, and began to glare at her summoner once the light died away. "What do you want brat?! I was on a date!"

"Can you wash this boat on shore?" she asked her.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be able to?" she responded irritably.

Just as she was about to violently summon the waters do move the boat, Lucy spoke up again.

"Can you do it carefully? There are a bunch of girls who are passed out on the boat because they were drugged and was going to be sold into slavery. I don't want to add physical wounds to the mental wounds that they will already have." She told her spirit.

Aquarius seemed to soften after hearing the circumstances of her summon. She nodded lightly and the waters became calmer. She lifted her urn and commanded the water to do her bidding. The boat began to move to shore, when it landed on the shore, Aquarius then dowsed Lucy in water, soaking her. Lucy glared at Aquarius. "That's for not summoning me on my contracted date." Aquarius sneered at Lucy and disappeared in another golden light.

Lucy watched on as Natsu jumped down from the ship that was now resting on the beach and walked towards her now soaked form. Her purple dress clung to her body and chest while she shivered in the cold night. Natsu approached her and nodded at her. He looked at her shivering form and sighed a little. Not wanting to be blamed for any damages made, he walked away from the scene with Lucy following behind him. Beginning to feel annoyed at the noise of her teeth clanking together while she shivered, he turned around and took off his cloak and draped it around her shoulders.

Lucy felt warmth enter her body and sighed in content. She looked up at Natsu to thank him but felt her breath sharpen in shock in surprise at the sight of his bare chest. Although she didn't see it, he raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in demeanor. She stepped forward, now looking as if she was in some sort of trance, and traced the mark that laid on his chest. She heard his small gasp as they both felt warm sparks spread across each other's bodies.

 **Hello my readers, sorry for such a long wait for this chapter. If you read my bio, you would know that I am starting college this year and this past month has been crazy busy since I had to get dorm stuff, pack, move my sister to college as well, help my brother move into a new apartment, and actually travel to college which is across the country. I managed to find some time to finish this chapter, as I had half of it done before this craziness started, and am uploading it while I'm traveling to my school. Because I don't know my schedule yet an I am known for joining a lot of clubs, my updated will be mainly on weekends and possible weeks apart depending on how busy I am. All of these chapters are unedited so if you find any grammar or spelling errors (spelling is the bane of my existence), feel free to tell me and ill fix it when I can. There will be a time when I will go back and edit the chapters, but that will more than likely be when I already have a good amount of chapters posted. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Hey ya'll I'm still alive and survived my first year of college (yay!). This semester was really hard**_ __ _ **but fun! I studied really hard for this one class and not to mention that my laptop's keyboard broke and it took like 2 months for it to get fixed (the first time I sent it in it didn't even get fixed I was so pissed). So I was having trouble writing with constantly getting laptop rentals from my school and managing accounts and files as I jumped from laptop to laptop. It really sucked especially since one of my classes included a computer programing aspect to it. But here is a chapter to celebrate! Enjoy!**_

 **Chapter 3**

 **Natsu**

Natsu sighed as he decided to hand the shivering girl his cloak. She was lucky he had it on, as the weather was still warm. He usually kept his coat on him when he traveled as a precaution. He sometimes traveled through cold terrain to reach mission sites and he didn't need any body being suspicious about him not being affected to the cold. He was only wearing it now due to the fact that his shirt got destroyed while he was fighting the monster on his last mission. He would now have to walk to his hotel room without a shirt, which made him feel uncomfortable since others could see his mark.

He was about turn back and start walking again when he noticed that the girl, Lucy, was in some sort of trance like shock. Curious about her sudden change in demeanor, he watched as the girl walked closer to him and approached his body. He watched as she lifted her hand and reached toward his mark. He let her touch it, hoping that the wish of him finally meeting his mate was finally coming true.

He let out a small gasp and his eyes widened as he felt sparks course throughout his body. He looked down at Lucy and his eyes went immediately towards the spot where their mark was supposed to be. He disregarded any form of modesty and lightly ripped her shirt from the collar to see if the mark was where it was supposed to be. He ignored her squeak when the sound of tearing fabric filled the air.

He saw it. The mark. He finally found her. After centuries of waiting and longing for his mate, she was finally there in front of him. He stared at her mark for what felt like hours which were just a few moments then pulled her body towards his to revel in the sparks that filled them as each other's skin made contact with their marks. He felt her sigh and relax into his body, and returned his embrace, enjoying their first interaction as newly found mates.

 **Lucy**

Lucy felt blissful. It was the first time since the death of her mother that she felt safe and warm. She didn't care that the embrace lasted way longer than it should have. She was happy where she was and was able to truly relax for the first time in years. She started to feel the tiredness affecting her consciousness. The night's events had been tiring and her mate's body was just so warm. She let herself fall asleep in the embrace, completely trusting him.

 **Natsu**

He felt his mate's body start to slowly sag and looked down to her eyes closed. He listened as her breathing and heart rate slowed and saw her muscles relax as she drifted into unconsciousness. A small smile appeared on his face. He was happy that she trusted him to protect her while she relaxed and slept. He held her body up and wrapped the cloak around her body. After the cloak was securely wrapped, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to his hotel.

When he arrived and went into his room, he immediately placed his sleeping mate on the bed. He left the cloak on her, it was now hers to keep, like intended. Years ago when he first purchased the cloak, he decided that it would be a great idea to enchant it for his mate. He spent months putting cursed infused magic into the fabric, making it nearly indestructible for her protection. The cloak would serve as a form of shield that would protect her if she was attacked, had a seal that would release a powerful spell that would harm her aggressors, and notified him of when she is attacked. Since the cloak had been enchanted, he would constantly infuse more of his curses and magic into the seals and ruins to make them more powerful. On top of those functions, he also made it to where the cloak would always regulate her body temperature as a way of preventing her from being tempted from taking it off during hot days.

He looked at his sleeping mate for a few more moments before sitting down in front of her bed and closed his eyes to go into a light meditation, intending on keeping watch until he brought her to his home.

 **Lucy- Next Day**

Lucy woke up feeling warm. She was cocooned in a warm fabric that carried a smoky smell. The smell wasn't that of the overbearing, choking smoke that you run from when identified from a dangerous fire, but that of a more comforting smoke, like a campfire or a nice, musky smell of a scented incense. She cuddled into the fabric when she remembered the events of the previous night.

She shot up from her bed and looked around frantically into the room. She mentally noted that he was not in the bed with her. Nor was her clothes removed from her body or felt any unknown soreness to her body. She took this as a good sign. She had heard stories of other soul mates where one of the partners tried to force completion of the bond on the night that they meet, even if their bond mate did not agree.

She found him at the floor where the foot of the bed was. He seemed to be in a semi-conscious state that she too found herself in when she was traveling on the road and wasn't able to find some sort of inn to stay at overnight. She moved to the end of the bed where his head rested against the bed, still wrapped up in the cloak that he gave her the night before.

Now positioned to where she was right behind his head, she stared at his hair. She like it, as far as she knew at the moment. Most people would balk at the idea of a man having pink hair, but it seemed to fit his skin tone and style perfectly fine. She also wondered how his hair stayed up the way it was. It looked like he did not use any form of hair product, but still somehow stood up in spikes in a messy way that fit him. She freed a hand from her cocoon and reached for his hair.

His hair was soft. Softer than even her own since she didn't have the luxury of her previous expensive hair products and a shower every night. She moved her hand around his head carefully, not trying to hurt his head with her motions and slight tugs. To busy playing with his hair, she did not notice his eyes open. She heard a small sigh of content come from the man below her and felt him push his head further against her hand. She smiled, pleased that he enjoyed her ministrations of comfort. She continued playing with his hair for a few more minutes before being the first one to utter their first words as known soulmates.

"Good morning." She said quietly, not entirely sure how to start a conversation with the person who was her soulmate, yet still a stranger.

"Morning," he replied in an equally as quiet voice, "did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I was very warm and comfortable. Thank you for taking care of me."

He turned to face her. "No problem. Do you want to go to Magnolia with me? I could take you to Fairy Tail if you still want to join."

His face looked impassive, but she could see that his eyes held the emotions that he was feeling. "Of course!" she replied with a smile. She didn't really care for joining Fairy Tail as much as before, if she was rejected, she would still want to go with him to get to know him better.

They checked out of the room and traveled to Magnolia by train. While on the ride, she started a conversation with Natsu, wanting to get to know him better. She learned a few things about him, like how his favorite color was a dark red, he had a cat named happy, and his relationship with his guildmates. Despite not knowing much about his guildmates, she could tell he somewhat cared about them, how much, she wasn't sure, but she guessed she would figure out more about their relationship while staying, and potentially living there.

They arrived outside the guild around noon of that morning. The stopped at the entrance before entering. While Lucy was reaching for the door, Natsu spoke to her. "I need to go back home to get a new shirt, I come back later." Lucy nodded to him.

"Okay, I'll see you later then. Hopefully, I'll be a member by then as well." She smiled up at him and gave him a small hug. She felt him relax into the hug before letting go. She watched as he walked down the street for a few moments and wrapped the cloak she still wore closer to her.

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

She did not expect there to be a fight in the middle of the hall, but was slightly glad that there was. Most of the attention was on the brawl going on, and was able to stay unnoticed to the others until she spoke to the bartender and model Mirajane to ask where the masters office is. Mirajane greeted her kindly and showed her where the masters office was before returning to her post at the bar. She thanked her and knocked on the door. "Enter," said the guild master.

The guild master was not what she expected. First of all, he was rather short. Second, the outfit he wore was rather strange, even for a mage. She bowed to him, introducing herself. "Hello Master, I am Lucy, I was wondering if I could join your guild."

When Lucy returned downstairs with a new guild mark on her hand, the fight was still going on. She decided to stand closer to the bar, where she could duck behind it if needed, and watch until someone decided to put an end to the brawl. A few moments passed when a black haired guy approached her, normally she wouldn't mind, but he only had his underwear on.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you here before." She covered her eyes and looked away as his underwear seemingly disappeared.

"Um… can you please put your underwear back on?" Lucy squeaked out.

"Oh damn! Hey who got my underwear!?" he screamed towards the brawl. He got no answer and turned back to the new face. "Hey can I have yours?"

"What the.. NO!" She exclaimed in shock.

The black haired was about to continue when he felt an intense heat behind him. He turned around and noticed two things. One the fighting stopped to look at the second thing, a very angry Natsu. This was very shocking, and even he would stop in the middle of a fight to see what made Natsu show emotion. A negative emotion that he somehow caused. It wasn't that Natsu did not have any emotions, everyone did, but Natsu rarely showed his or any interest in the on goings of the guild unless it was to get a mission. He would normally just go to the second floor, grab a mission, and leave with out batting an eye to the fights or events that happen, much like the never seen Mystogan.

"What the hell did you just ask Lucy?" Natsu asked with a deep voice. Shivers ran down Gray's spine.

"Ah ha ha nothing… I'll just… Head back to the brawl…" Gray slowly walked back to the center of the guild, trying not to provoke the S class mage.

"Natsu!" Lucy greeted cheerfully. The others look on in surprise as the new recruit hugged one of their most introverted members. "I got in! We should go on missions together, ne?"

He lightly returned the hug. "Sure, let's get you settled first."

"Yeah, let's go look for apartments, I need to find a place to stay…" the conversation trailed off as the couple left the scene at the guild.

" uhh… guys… what just happened?" a random guild member questioned out loud.


End file.
